Chapter 281
Team Seiyur’s mood was at its peak.
They had thought it would just be a slightly intense professional field experience, but were suddenly assigned an important mission—to retrieve a candidate for Saintess. And not just any mission—it was a high-difficulty assignment, potentially involving a clash with Efnelle.
“This one’s going to be bragging material for at least two months once we’re back in Keyzen!”
Excited, Dick slung his arm around Simon’s neck and said,
“We’re the ones stopping the Saintess from appearing! This is the kind of mission you get to be part of when you work with someone amazing!”
Maelyn shot him a look, as if to tell him to be quiet.
“Don’t overdo it. We know it’s an important mission, so shut it.”
“Yay~ Yay~”
Dick stuck close to Seiyur, who was walking ahead, and began bombarding him with questions.
It wasn’t flattery, it was 100% genuine admiration.
“Hey, Simon.”
“……”
“Hey!!”
Simon jumped and turned to look.
Maelyn stood with her hands on her hips, pretending to be angry.
“What are you thinking about so seriously?”
“It’s just…”
Simon tilted his head as he spoke.
“Is it really okay for us to be assigned a mission this important?”
“What are you talking about? It’s not us, Agent Seiyur is the one assigned to it.”
Maelyn corrected him.
“We’re just extras. He’s the ace of Vengeance’s Intelligence Division, so he gets missions like this.”
“Hmm.”
But the discomfort in Simon’s mind wouldn’t go away.
Maelyn passed Simon and looked over at Kamibarez.
“Kami, are you still getting used to everything? You look a little tense.”
As Maelyn asked sweetly, Kamibarez shook her head.
“N-No, I’m okay now! It’s because you’re all with me.”
“Then why the gloomy face?”
“……”
As she hesitated, Simon spoke gently.
“It’s alright, Kami. You can tell us anything.”
After fidgeting with her small hands, she finally opened her mouth.
“We’re… going to, um, ‘kidnap’ the girl who’s the Saintess candidate… aren’t we?”
Gulp.
Maelyn flinched, then forced a bright smile onto her face.
“K-Kidnap?! What are you talking about? Haha! We’re going to protect her from those Efnelle bastards, obviously!”
“……”
Kamibarez’s expression didn’t brighten. Maelyn elbowed Simon repeatedly and mouthed, ‘Say something!’
Eventually, Simon opened his mouth.
“If Efnelle reaches the girl first, they’ll take her to the Holy Federation regardless of her will. That’s a certainty.”
In the Holy Federation, all babies were required to undergo a sacred test, and those who scored highly in divine aptitude were declared chosen by the Goddess Dave. From then on, regardless of personal choice, they were forced onto the path of a priest.
The entire process was regarded as sacred and unquestionable due to religious reasons.
“On the other hand, if we reach the girl first…”
“We’ll at least ask for her consent, right?”
Seiyur suddenly cut in.
“If the girl agrees, it’s protection. If she refuses, it becomes a kidnapping.”
Kamibarez swallowed hard.
“W-What do we plan to do with her after bringing her in?”
Seiyur pushed her bangs up with the back of her hand and winked.
“We’ll wait for the upper ranks to decide. Our mission only goes as far as bringing her in.”
It would be problematic if the Neutral Zone residents turned entirely against the Dark Alliance.
For that reason, they wouldn’t take the girl’s life, but Seiyur explained that she would likely be sent to the Dark Alliance.
If she insisted on continuing to live in the Neutral Zone, she might be required to open her Core. If she opened her Core, she couldn’t become a priest.
“This is just my opinion.”
Maelyn said, crossing her arms.
“But no matter how she ends up living, it’s better than becoming a puppet of Efnelle. At least with us, she’ll have freedom.”
“……Yes.”
Kamibarez steeled herself and nodded.
“Well then, let’s head to the mission site.”
As Seiyur said this, Dick clenched his fists as if he’d been waiting for this moment.
“We’re using a teleportation circle, right? Right? It’s a high-priority, time-sensitive mission...!”
However.
Where they arrived was a carriage stop. Seiyur spoke with a coachman and then turned to the students.
“Everyone, please get on.”
“W-We’re really going by carriage? All the way to the mission area?”
Dick asked in a flustered tone, and Seiyur placed a finger on his chin with a radiant smile.
“Of course! A teleportation circle would be faster, but this is the Neutral Zone. If our coordinates get exposed to Efnelle, we’re done. Taking an ordinary, shabby carriage is the best way to stay under the radar.”
“Ahh, of course! Agent, you always think ahead!”
Dick and Seiyur got on first. The other three followed and headed to the carriage.
* * *
At the same time.
About 500 meters from where Simon’s team was boarding the carriage—
A man stood alone.
“Didn’t sleep a wink last night…”
He was a middle-aged man with a sharp suit, broad shoulders, and the look of a bear. He clenched his teeth nervously and bounced his legs.
“They say kids these days are terrifying.”
Next to him, a woman with a stiff, secretary-like demeanor frowned.
“They’re just kids. How scary could they be?”
Blark chewed anxiously on his thumb.
“No, they’re Keyzen kids. The Keyzen! Their parents are all somebodies, and they themselves are high-ranking nobles!”
Despite his large frame, Blark shrank like a frightened rabbit.
“I heard from the seniors—getting chewed out by students is standard. Some even summon their superiors and rake them over the coals. There were even kids who complained to the communication orb that the snacks were lacking, and the entire leadership lined up to bow their heads.”
“You actually believe that nonsense?”
The secretary scolded.
“And you’re a seasoned veteran who’s survived countless life-or-death situations. Why are you so scared of some kids?”
“……Kids these days don’t care about that stuff. Try saying ‘Back in my day—’ and they just shut their ears and give you that dead-eyed stare.”
“Oh, come on!”
Blark finally began begging with a desperate look.
“I just want them to be good kids. Good kids. I swear I’ll treat them well if they are…”
“They probably will be kind. Not every Keyzen student is rude, you know.”
“Y-You think so? But one of my assigned students is Special Admission No. 1. They’ve gotta be an arrogant, violent noble…”
“Ugh, really.”
Blark slowly checked his wristwatch.
“But the kids are a little late. Hehe.”
Blark had come to greet them in front of the Vengeance building a full hour early.
And now, it was an hour past the agreed meeting time, and the Keyzen students still hadn’t shown up.
“Hehe, I know what this is. It’s a silent test, right? I’ll wait here for hours if I have to—just please show up, kids…”
The secretary sighed deeply.
“Let me make this clear: At the dispatch location, you are the boss, got it? No matter how brilliant these kids are, Agent Blark has the authority to grade them!”
But Blark, muttering in despair, didn’t hear a word.
“Agent Seiyur! Agent Seiyur!”
Just then, a man burst out of the Vengeance building, frantically looking for someone. He spotted Blark and the secretary and ran over.
“Agent Blark! Secretary! Thank you for your work! Have you seen Agent Seiyur by any chance?”
The secretary shrugged.
“Haven’t seen him.”
“Damn it! Where the hell did that troublemaker run off to now?!”
“Is something wrong?”
The man sighed and held his forehead.
"That man—he didn’t just go on his usual infiltration mission, he walked out with a top-priority assignment. A target acquisition mission usually handled by the Combat Division!"
"What?"
"If you see him, please tell him something!"
The man dashed off toward the market to question residents. The secretary, who had been quietly watching, turned her head.
"Agent Blark, did you hear that? Sounds like Seiyur’s gotten himself into trouble again."
But Blark still wasn’t listening at all.
"I also heard this rumor. Keyzen kids will ask which school you graduated from, and if you name anything other than Keyzen, they start ignoring you completely."
"Ah! Will you please stop already!"
"Sniff I, the Moyran dropout, will be over here bowing my head in silence."
* * *
"Me? Of course, I graduated from Keyzen!"
Inside the carriage speeding toward the mission site.
When Seiyur casually shrugged and said this, Dick gasped in awe.
"My goodness! You’re our direct senior, then!"
Even Maelyn looked surprised to hear he was a Keyzen graduate. He really was a textbook elite.
Dick kept the conversation going.
"We’re only first-years, and it’s already hell for us. I have nothing but respect for someone who survived three whole years there!"
"Heh, second year will be even worse, and third year will be a living hell."
Then, Maelyn quietly looked at Seiyur and asked,
"By your age… do you happen to know Professor Bahil or Professor Aron?"
"Ah, those guys? Of course I know them."
Dick and Maelyn’s jaws dropped. He just called two current Keyzen professors those guys?
"Let’s see… They were my juniors back when I was a third year."
"Wooooah!"
"They were already exceptional even as underclassmen, so I taught them a lot. I still run into them from time to time when I visit Keyzen HQ. They always greet me with respect. Haha! I tell them to knock it off, now that they’re professors themselves."
"With respect? Professor Bahil and Professor Aron?"
Right on cue, Seiyur launched into his heroic tales from his Keyzen days, and Dick, Maelyn—and even Kamibarez—listened intently, ears perked up.
Hmm.
Meanwhile, Simon, arms crossed, was starting to feel that something was off.
"Right, that’s how it happened. Bahil used blood to weave a net and catch the runaway."
"Wow! He’s a Katarology professor now, but I guess he used to study Haematology back then too!"
"Huh? Ah, yes. He used to do Haematology when he was younger, but later switched to curses…"
Simon closed his eyes.
He couldn’t say anything based on mere suspicion.
For now, he’d just keep his guard up and observe.
* * *
The border between the Holy Federation and the Neutral Zone.
Gate of Holiness.
The Gate of Holiness was a kind of checkpoint, anyone heading into the Neutral Zone had to pass through it.
This time, Efnelle students were passing through the gate. All of them were students on dispatch missions to the Neutral Zone.
"It’s my first time in the Neutral Zone, Sister Lete!"
Said Lilinet, a girl with her hair braided on both sides, and Lete’s roommate. Lete, as usual, had both hands tucked into her robe and a deep scowl on her face.
"Doesn’t feel that long since I’ve been here."
"Huh? You’ve been here before?"
"…Ah, don’t ask. I’m getting flashbacks of that nightmare where I had to crawl into a tiny box."
"? I don’t get it."
Just then, three female students in Efnelle uniforms called out to Lilinet and approached.
Lete glanced at them with her usual uninterested face and said,
"Are they your squadmates?"
"Yes!"
"You’ve really got the plainest group possible, huh."
"Sister Lete, you’re really going solo?"
She nodded and yawned.
"Having others around only gets in the way. I’ll just handle it quickly and return to the Holy Federation."
"As expected of Sister Lete! Every move you make is so bold!"
"What mission did you get, Lilinet? A tough one?"
Lilinet waved her hand like it was no big deal.
"Just a standard Saintess candidate retrieval."
"Be careful. I heard Keyzen kids are around too."
"Oh my! Are you worried about me? I’m flattered!"
When Lete glared sharply, Lilinet instinctively took a defensive stance.
"S-Still, don’t you have any last words for your roommate before we part?"
Lete, with her hands in her robe pockets, looked contemplative for a moment before she spoke curtly.
"A boy with blue hair."
"?"
"If you see a Keyzen boy with slightly blue-ish hair during your mission… just assume you’re already dead and run."
"Hehe! Me? Run? I’ll have you know, my combat ability is top tier in all of Efnelle."
"Doesn’t matter if you’re top tier or not."
Lete looked at her seriously.
"If you get caught up with him… someone like you really will die."
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters